Feinstein plays key role

WASHINGTON 
Sen. Dianne Feinstein spent much of the past year consumed with details of the presidential inauguration: 240,000 tickets, 22,000 sheets of plywood for the platform, 5,000 portable toilets, 4,000 members of the news media who applied for credentials and more than 24 jumbo TV screens.

It all paid off yesterday when the San Francisco Democrat, on one of the most visible days of her 39-year political career, served as the emcee of the inauguration. She had the honor of introducing Barack Obama as the new president and offering a toast to his wife, Michelle, and him at an exclusive luncheon at the Capitol.

“This nation is in good hands,” Feinstein said, raising a glass to the Obamas. “May those hands remain stable and steady. . . . We salute you, Mr. President.”

The fourth-term senator got her moment in the spotlight as a result of leading the joint congressional committee that was charged with planning the inaugural ceremony and the luncheon, aided by a $1.2 million budget. She was the first Californian and the first woman to receive the assignment.

At one point before the ceremony, Feinstein marveled at how far the United States has progressed in race relations.

“The doors are open,” she said. “And we've got a bright, young, energetic president who happens to be African-American. And the American people are rejoicing. . . . It really is history in the making.”

Twice the advice

Just in time for move-in day, the Bush twins offered their best advice yesterday to Sasha and Malia Obama on living in a “magical place” called the White House.

In an open letter to the Obama children, 27-year-olds Barbara and Jenna Bush advised the girls to relish it all – to “go to anything and everything you possibly can.”

“Just go,” they wrote in a letter published in the Wall Street Journal. “Four years goes by so fast, so absorb it all, enjoy it all!”

The twins reminisced about their favorite memories of the White House and gave plenty of specific advice, too, to 7-year-old Sasha and 10-year-old Malia:

And this: “Slide down the banister of the solarium, go to T-ball games, have swimming parties, and play Sardines on the White House lawn. Have fun and enjoy your childhood in such a magical place to live and play.”

As for the Obama girls' dad, they added, “Many people will think they know him, but they have no idea how he felt the day you were born, the pride he felt on your first day of school, or how much you both love being his daughters. So here is our most important piece of advice: remember who your dad really is.”
Political poetry
Following the world's most awaited oration – President Obama's inaugural speech – poet Elizabeth Alexander echoed the new leader's tribute to daily labor, his call for responsibility and his reminder of the sacrifices that made his election possible.

“Say it plain: that many have died for this day,” Alexander, 46, said yesterday during her brief reading, in which she also spoke out to the world about “love that casts a widening pool of light, love with no need to pre-empt grievance.”

Her poem is titled “Praise Song for the Day: A Poem for Barack Obama's Presidential Inauguration.”

Alexander is just the fourth inaugural poet, following Robert Frost, Maya Angelou and Miller Williams.

A-list spectators

With fame and fortune apparently comes another perk: A front-row seat to history.

Jay-Z was at President Barack Obama's swearing-in with wife Beyonce. Smokey Robinson, Diddy and Denzel Washington made it, too. Bruce Springsteen was there, not far from Christopher Guest and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Boxing great Muhammad Ali had a seat on the platform, as did actor John Cusack and director Steven Spielberg. Leonardo DiCaprio whipped out his own camera, while Magic Johnson and actor Val Kilmer patiently posed for photographs with fans.

Stevie Wonder went with his wife, fashion designer Kai Milla, who grew up in Washington.